Certain refrigerator appliances include an ice maker. To produce ice, liquid water is directed to the ice maker and frozen. A variety of ice types can be produced depending upon the particular ice maker used. For example, certain ice makers include a mold body for receiving liquid water. An auger within the mold body can rotate and scrape ice off an inner surface of the mold body to form ice nuggets. Such ice makers are generally referred to as nugget style ice makers. Certain consumers prefer nugget style ice makers and their associated ice nuggets.
Dispensing nugget style ice poses certain challenges. For example, nugget style ice is generally stored within a bucket, and a funnel channels the nugget style ice from the bucket to a container within a dispenser recess of an associated refrigerator appliance. Gravity generally urges the nugget style ice through the funnel. However, nugget style ice can swirl within the funnel with a non-vertical velocity component. Thus, as the nugget style ice exits the funnel at the dispenser recess, the nugget style ice can “spray” in an undesirable pattern and miss the container within the dispenser recess.
Accordingly, a refrigerator appliance with features for reducing spray of nugget style ice at a dispenser recess of the refrigerator appliance would be useful.